Accessibility Links

David Petraeus interview; the transcript

Q: There’s a growing body of thought that counter insurgency is not working. A big think-tank, IISS, came out a couple of weeks ago saying it can’t work over here, the coalition’s trying to do too much, surely best to go back to basics, contain and deter, reduce the force size, that’s the only way you are going to get out with any sense of success. What do you say?

A: Let’s come back to what our mission is and that is to ensure that Afghanistan does not once again become a sanctuary for al-Qaeda and other trans-national extremists as it was prior to 9/11. Then looking at how to accomplish that mission, we believe that the best way to do that is to pursue…